A new report ranks Turkey among the top 10 healthcare destinations globally, thanks to the country making high quality treatment and facilities available to foreigners at reasonable prices.

The 2014 Global Life Sciences Outlook published by international tax firm Deloitte says Turkey now attracts hundreds of thousands of healthcare seekers a year. The report analyses healthcare and pharmaceutical markets by country, and predicts a growth of 8.8 per cent in pharma sales in Turkey between 2013 and 2017, growing to a volume of $19billion. Deloitte also recommends healthcare providers in Turkey to adopt long-term strategies and not focus too much on short-term profits, especially as market conditions in Turkey are developing at such a rapid rate.

This news will be welcomed by foreign property-owners and owners, who will be reassured that their money is invested in a country with medical facilities recognised globally for quality and affordability.

The Turkish Government intends to introduce tax-free healthcare zones specifically tailored for foreign patients. This forms part of its plan to grow its number of annual medical tourists to 500,000 by 2015 and to two million by 2023.

A statement on Turkey’s Travel Council says: “The high cost of healthcare in the developed world is accounted as a major problem for individuals, employers, employee funds, insurance systems and governments. This fact has shaped the medical tourism industry within the last decade. At the crossroads between East and West, Turkey is on its way to become the next centre of attraction for the global medical tourism market.”